US President Barack Obama: the US will not rush for an exit from Afghanistan

The US President has made clear that the weekend massacre of civilians in Afghanistan will not lead to an early withdrawal of American troops.

7:45AM GMT 13 Mar 2012

A US Army staff sergeant is now in custody, accused of leaving his base in Kandahar and shooting 16 villagers in their homes.

Mr Obama gave his condolences to the victims and their families but said that the shootings would not change US strategy in Afghanistan.

"It is still important for us to make sure that as we transition to Afghan lead we don't rush for the exits in a way that could end up leading to more chaos and more disaster not just for Afghanistan and the Afghan people but also for the entire region and for our own security and safety," Mr Obama said in an interview on ABC.

He added that it was important that US forces left the country when the time was right.

"I have put us on a path where we are going to have this war over by the end of 2014, that our troops will be coming out, but will be coming out responsibly," the US President said.